bank – Page 60 – Retail News CRM

UOB and RHT Chestertons Ties Up In App

RHT Chestertons Valuation and Advisory have tied up with UOB Business Banking to launch Singapore’s first instant indication guide for commercial property.

Within the «Real Commercial» app developed by Soreal Prop and United Overseas Bank (UOB), one can find an online platform that provides the value indication guide for local commercial strata-titled properties to the user within a minute, as compared to 30 minutes or more using the normal method.

This instant indication range guide platform was developed over nine months, with RHT Chestertons providing the valuation methodology to develop a matrix which can generate a current range of values for the particular strata-titled commercial property based on the address and size, the real estate advisory firm said in a media statement on Monday.

While these robo-valuation models are in demand by financial institutions, it cannot entirely replace the human element in the valuation process, the advisory firm notes. «Human input is still required to assess properties like landed factories, shophouses, hotels and dormitories, etc. as there are other intangible factors affecting value associated with the various property types,» the firm wrote in a report.

David Ng and Eleen Chia who have years of experience in the valuation of REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), initial public offerings, land parcels, mortgage security, acquisitions and disposals, currently helms RHT Chestertons’ Valuation & Advisory.

If demand for such service is strong, RHT Chestertons may enhance the platform to include residential strata-titled properties too. Addressing the need to improve on the quality of valuation reports in the future, RHT Chestertons is now providing analytics to assist clients to have a better understanding of property values. Such analytics include, but not limited to value behavior charts in particular districts and estimated projection of property values based on past trends.

RHT Chestertons has developed a matrix that allows a range of values to be generated using recent transaction records, past valuations, and current rental data. This allows the user, property agent or buyer, to work out through the app the loan amount needed, and hence to proceed immediately with the loan application process with UOB. A formal valuation report will then be instructed to be issued by RHT Chestertons when the loan is to be disbursed.

October 31, 2019

Private Banks Don’t Put Their Fees on the Internet

Asymmetries of information are a big issue in the provision of medical services. If a patient with a stomach ache doesn’t know what to do about it he will consult his medical adviser, in other words, his doctor. The doctor, in turn, will analyze the problem and propose a solution, a therapy.

Given his advantage of information, the doctor has the means to influence the degree of medical advice and an opportunity to earn money from the prescription of drugs. He can suggest that the patient should return to his surgery in two days’ time for a check-up or agree with the patient to return only if the therapy doesn’t work within two days.

Normally, the patient will not be able to judge which of the suggested procedures makes more sense for him. A doctor with extra capacities thus has a way of generating additional income if need be. A tried and tested measure against this supply-induced demand is to limit the number of medical surgeries.

It is definitely worth looking at both the disclosed and the hidden costs. As advisory services in private banking aren’t measured in minutes, unlike those of medical doctors, the symptoms of asymmetries of information aren’t the same. It is worth looking at both the disclosed and the hidden costs. The prices of private-banking services aren’t publicly known because of the discretion of the providers.

To be precise: private banks aren’t displaying their fees on the internet. This makes it hard for an inexperienced client to determine whether the price offered for advisory services or wealth management mandate is fair or not. This is true in particular because these prices normally depend on the size of assets, the strategy chosen and occasionally also on the frequency of advice given. Clients with little know-how thus risk paying too much for the service.

Fees charged for advice and wealth management services at least be disclosed to the client. Many providers, however, are burying other costs in the products they recommend to their clients. For instance, even experts are finding it hard to detect the margin applied to a structured product. After all, who is able to decide whether a particular option was fairly priced or not? The more complex a product is used, the bigger the asymmetry of information and the more options there are to add more margin.

Thanks to the asymmetries of information, it is relatively easy for financial services firms to increase their margin at the expense of the client, both openly and covertly. What is the driving force behind this exploitation of their position of power?

The goal of profit maximization springs to mind first. If you aim for the biggest profit possible in a short period of time, the temptations are much stronger than for the provider with a long-term perspective. It would be salutary for many clients to join an annual press conference and hear the management proudly display how they managed to increase their client margin.

The compensation system deserves particular attention. Companies that promise to pay high bonuses to relationship managers for selling as many of the bank’s own products as possible, clearly don’t have the best interest of clients as their focus. But even the compensation components that look innocuous at first sight can quickly turn problematic: a relationship manager whose bonus depends on the size of assets under custody won’t likely tell his client to pay back a mortgage as it would lower his tally of assets under management.

Clients who suspect that their relationship manager doesn’t act in their own best interest should demand to know how his compensation is being calculated. Ideally in writing to avoid becoming the victim of obfuscation.

In the past years, whenever there was a problem in financial services, the cry for the regulator wasn’t slow in coming. Is it possible to regulate away asymmetries of information? In part for sure: service providers could be forced to publish their prices on the internet or disclose product margins.

But discretionary powers for the latter of the two are so big that regulation would hardly help much. Competition is fully capable of solving the problem. The behavior of clients is decisive. They should care about issues involving their assets at least to a minimum degree. Nobody will benefit from a failure to act despite being dissatisfied.

Unfortunately, most clients overestimate the complexity of changing their bank and only a few know that most companies will assume the majority o

October 30, 2019

UBS Axes 40 Jobs In APAC

UBS Group is trimming some 40 jobs in Asia Pacific as part of the group’s push to cut costs and combine its trading units.

The staff cuts would come from UBS’s markets and investment-banking teams with a majority at the level of vice president or below. The person asked not to be identified because the details are not yet public.

The Asian divisions will see smaller cuts than those planned in Europe because the lender sees the region as a growth driver, the people said. The divisions, led by Hong Kong-based Taichi Takahashi and David Chin, face a similar story at HSBC, which has is reviewing its equities unit, and announced steep headcount cuts in Europe.

As part of its global restructuring, Ros L’Esperance and Javier Oficialdegui are being given charge of the newly-named global banking division, which will house public capital markets, private financing and mergers, and acquisitions. A combined global markets operation including equities and foreign exchange, rates and credit will be run by Jason Barron and George Athanasopoulos.

Greg Peirce is taking over as global head of mergers and acquisitions, the first time that role will be based in Hong Kong, the person said. The Asian staff reductions have already begun, with a fresh round expected later this month, they said. UBS has started to overhaul its investment bank through reshuffling senior management and combining trading operations in changes that may ultimately eliminate hundreds of positions.

October 30, 2019

Citi Appoints APAC CEO

Citi names its new Asia Pacific CEO six months after the departure of the former regional chief.

Peter Babej has been named as chief executive officer of Asia Pacific, succeeding Francisco Aristeguieta who left in April and was replaced in the interim by Tim Monger who will return to solely focus on his CFO role.

Babej joined Citi in 2010 as its co-head of the financial institutions group within its institutional client group before becoming the unit’s sole head in 2017. Previously, Babej held multiple senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Lazard.

According to the bank, Babej’s deep financial knowledge and dealmaking experience, especially with regards to digital adoption, will serve Citi well given rapid growth in the market.

Under Peter’s leadership, the Citi has participated in some of the most significant transactions in the sector, including several Asia-driven mergers and acquisitions, said Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat, highlighting marque deals such as the $14 billion fundraisings for Ant Financial.

In the first nine months of 2019, Citi’s APAC unit posted a net income of $3.91b, accounting for 27 percent of the global sum.

October 28, 2019

Vietcombank first local lender to open Australia branch

Vietcombank, one of Vietnam’s leading banks, has received approval from the central bank to open a branch in Australia.

The branch will open in Sydney and have a registered capital of AUD71 million ($48.08 million), according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) approval document released Wednesday.

Vietcombank must complete the opening of the branch within 24 months from the date of the SBV’s approval, after which it expires, the document says.

This move is an important step in Vietcombank’s global expansion strategy, in which it aims to gain a place among the world’s top 300 banking and financial groups by 2020, it said in a statement.

In June this year, Vietcombank received the final permit to set up a representative office in New York City of the U.S. from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

Vietcombank has more than 500 branches, representative offices, and member companies in Vietnam and overseas, including a financial company in Hong Kong, a money transfer company in the U.S., a representative office in Singapore and a subsidiary in Laos.

The lender is one of three Vietnamese banks among the world’s most valuable brands, according to Brand Finance, a global branded business valuation and strategy consultancy.

Vietcombank, BIDV and Vietinbank are Vietnam’s three biggest banks in Forbes’s list of 2,000 largest listed firms in the world. In the Forbes ranking released in May, Vietcombank jumped 198 spots to 1,096th with revenues of $3.1 billion and a market value of $10.9 billion.

Japan’s Mizuho Bank is Vietcombank’s largest foreign shareholder, with a 15 percent stake, while the Vietnamese state holds 74.8 percent.

October 25, 2019

UOB Issued Letter of Demand To Libra Group

UOB has asked Libra Group, which is mired in financial troubles, to pay up $18.8 million.

UOB has issued a letter of demand to Libra Group for the above amount, based on outstanding banking facilities, the Catalist-listed company announced in a filing on Friday. The letter, dated Oct 8, reveals that events of default have occurred, and «UOB shall cease to be under any further commitment to the Company.»

The entire sum of $18.8 million is immediately payable to the bank by last Friday, the filing said.

The Singapore lender also issued a letter demand to Kin Xin Engineering, a unit of Libra that provided guarantees for the US$18.8 million sum, for repayment by the same deadline.

Another Libra unit, Libra Engineering & Manufacturing, separately received a letter of demand dated Sept 30 from WMS Industrial Gas & Equipment for 72,940 Ringgit (S$23,940), related to goods sold and delivered.

October 24, 2019

Singapore Fintech Investments Crossed S$1 Billion

Investment in financial technology ventures in Singapore rose sharply in the first nine months of 2019, led by fundraising with payments startups and insurtech firms and a shift toward more-mature companies.

The total value of financial technology (fintech) deals in the nine months ended September jumped 69 percent from the prior-year period to $735 million (S$1 billion) from $435 million, and exceeded the $642 million raised in all of 2018, according to an Accenture analysis of venture-finance data from CB Insights, Pitchbook and Tracxn. The 2019 and 2018 figures included $47 million and $12 million respectively in undisclosed venture capital transaction data provided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Crossing a billion-Singapore-dollar investment threshold is a recognition from investors around the world of the potential of Singapore’s fintech ecosystem and the outlook for digital financial services not just in Singapore, but also in Southeast Asia, said Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore in a statement.

Singapore’s active investments into its fintech ecosystem, alongside its annual Singapore Fintech Festival, seems to be paying off: the city-state saw a nearly six-fold increase since 2015.

It’s encouraging to see the local startups financing their global growth from Singapore. Additionally, several global fintech companies with regional headquarters in Singapore have recently raised sizeable funds to fuel their Asian expansion, Mohanty added.

However, the number of fintech deals fell by almost one-third (29 percent) in the first nine months of 2019, to 94 from 133 in the prior-year period showing that investors made larger bets into fewer deals as startups grow their business.

As we’ve seen in other parts of the world, fundraising is shifting to support the scaling up of challenger and collaborative fintech, which will cause lumpiness in some rounds as the market becomes more mature, said Divyesh Vithlani, a managing director at Accenture and head of Financial Services in the ASEAN region in a statement on Monday. Investments in payments startups and those in lending took the bulk of fintech fundraising, accounting for 34 percent and 20 percent of the total, respectively, while insurtechs raked in 17 percent.

The value of payments deals jumped 113 percent, to $251 million, making the biggest contribution to the overall gains this year. Insurtech funding nearly quadrupled, to $128 million from $35 million, and lending rose more than 50 percent, to $145 million.

October 24, 2019

Citi Setting Up Wholly Owned Securities Unit in China

Citigroup, which earlier announced its decision to dissolve its investment-banking joint venture in China, is now setting up a wholly-owned securities business in the world’s second-largest economy.

The New York-based bank may initially focus on brokerage and futures trading while expanding its custodian services in China, quoting sources familiar with the matter. This comes as China announced the removal of ownership caps for financial institutions.

The people asked not to be identified because a final decision has yet to be made. It also plans to apply for a futures license as early as the first half of 2020.

Earlier this year, Citigroup has agreed to sell its stake in its Citi Orient Securities joint venture to its Chinese partner, as it prepares to set up its own brokerage in the world’s second-largest capital market.

In December, Citigroup Global Markets Asia informed Orient Securities that the bank intended to sell all of its shareholdings, the Chinese company said in an exchange filing. Orient said its board gave the green light for the acquisition of Citi’s stake, adding that the deal will be subject to approval from China’s securities regulator and state asset regulator.

October 24, 2019

UOB Trains Staff to Adapt to Digital Era

In order to upgrade its staff and equip them for the digital era, UOB has launched a comprehensive learning and development program to upskill its employees.

The Better U program includes a 12-week foundation course alongside more specific career pathways and learning tracks. Its 12-week course focuses on five core competencies: encouraging a growth mindset; alongside acquiring skills in complex problem solving; digital innovation; human-centered design; and data.

For its career pathways and learning tracks, it recently introduced the fields of data management and project management which will be covered in three-year programs.

According to the bank, the Better U program was the first such training initiative accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) that included both soft skills coupled with digital and data skills. By 2020, UOB expects that at least 70 percent of its more than 26,000 employees globally will have completed the foundation course and subsequently receive a UOB-IBF certificate of achievement.

By designing a holistic development program that covers both soft and technical skills, we are sowing the seeds of learning to prepare our people for successful careers in an industry that is undergoing significant change, said Dean Tong, UOB’s head of group HR.

October 24, 2019

HSBC Reviewing Bank’s Equities Team

HSBC will be reviewing its global equities sales and trading business as it tries to slash costs under Noel Quinn, raising the chances of more job cuts.

With HSBC’s interim chief Noel Quinn looking to ax 10,000 jobs in Europe, the bank may look to sell or shut down its equities sales and trading business. Some of these headcount cuts could come from the sale of its French retail bank.

Equity desks are becoming more automated — it wouldn’t be a shock if they take more bodies out,» said an investment banker, who was quoted on Sunday. Global equities revenues were $1.2bn (£930m) last year, representing about 2 percent of group revenues.

Any job cuts implemented as part of the latest plan would come on top of 4,700 redundancies that HSBC recently announced, according to a report. The lender is struggling with thinning profits amid a challenging environment characterized by low-interest rates, trade conflicts, and Brexit uncertainty. The bank’s global headcount stands at about 238,000.

The planned cuts mark the lender’s most ambitious attempt to rein in costs in years, as it would result in a substantial reduction in HSBC’s current headcount. Observers also see it as a move by Quinn to make his mark on the bank, post the exit of John Flint, the previous chief.

We’ve known for years that we need to do something about our cost base, the largest component of which is people — now we are finally grasping the nettle, said two sources quoted in the Financial Times article.

There’s some very hard modeling going on. We are asking why we have so many people in Europe when we’ve got double-digit returns in parts of Asia, they added.

Despite heavy cuts, the London-based bank with a strong franchise in Asia wants to hire more than 600 staff by the end of 2022 for the business in the Asia-Pacific region, said Kevin Martin, regional head of retail banking and wealth management who was quoted in «Bloomberg».

October 23, 2019

DBS Mulls Second Attempt at Indonesian Bank M&A

Considerations are being made at DBS on whether or not to submit a bid for Indonesian lender Bank Permata – its second attempt to enter the Southeast Asian market through an acquisition.

DBS has not yet concluded its decision on whether or not to bid for the bank valued at $2.4 billion, according to a report citing anonymous sources. The submission deadline is believed to be due in about a month.

Should it decide to pursue the acquisition, DBS will face competition from OCBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. Bank Permata’s current major shareholders include Standard Chartered (45 percent) and PT Astra International (45 percent).

Should DBS proceed, it will mark the second attempt at acquiring a major Indonesian bank. In 2013, DBS failed to acquire PT Bank Danamon Indonesia with its $6.5 billion bid following a change to foreign ownership rules. The Indonesian lender was subsequently acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ earlier this year.

October 22, 2019

HSBC Appoints New Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management

HSBC Singapore on Friday announced a new Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management who will lead the business in Singapore working with customer groups to maximize its potential as a regional treasury hub as they deepen their presence in Southeast Asia.

David Koh, HSBC’s new head of global liquidy and cash management (GLCM), joins from Standard Chartered, where he most recently led the transaction bank for Greater China and North Asia. He brings over 25 years of experience in transaction banking, having worked across seven geographies including China, Singapore, the UK, and Saudi Arabia, the lender said in a statement.

Whilst Singapore already enjoys a strong concentration of multinationals basing their regional treasury centers here, Southeast Asia’s rising consumer market means these numbers are ratcheting up even further. When you couple this with the region’s growing digital economy and mobile-first mentality, it becomes clear that businesses require truly innovative solutions to grasp these opportunities,» said Head of Commercial Banking HSBC Singapore Alan Turner.

With David’s many years of international experience, he will be instrumental in driving cross-border payment and liquidity solutions in this ever-changing dynamic region, Turner added.

Prior to Standard Chartered, Koh headed the Corporate and Transaction Banking teams for Deutsche Bank in Greater China. Koh began his career at HSBC on the bank’s executive trainee development program.

October 22, 2019

Kasikorn Bank announced the nine-month period of 2019 net profit of Baht 29,924 Million

Ms. Kattiya Indaravijaya, President of KASIKORNBANK, said Thai economic activity in the third quarter of 2019 continued to see few supports, after growing by 2.30% in the second quarter of 2019. The Thai economy showed signs of strength in the third quarter of 2019, due mostly to the low base effect of the same period last year, especially in the tourism sector. However, exports and private investment – two major economic drivers – continued to slow in line with the sluggish global economy and trade volume amid the protracted US–China trade negotiations and concerns over Brexit risks. For the final quarter of this year, a brighter outlook seems to be in store for the Thai economy, thanks to the government’s stimulus measures.

Operating performance for the nine–month period of 2019, KBank and its subsidiaries reported net profit of Baht 29,924 Million, and reported net profit of Baht 9,951 Million, for the third quarter of 2019.

Operating performance for the nine–month period of 2019 compared with the same period of 2018, KBank and its subsidiaries reported net profit of Baht 29,924 Million, a decrease of Baht 1,502 Million or 4.78% over the same period of 2018. Net interest income increased by Baht 4,051 Million or 5.54% mainly due to interest income from loans to customers and investments. NIM stood at 3.34%. Non–interest income decreased by Baht 2,753 Million or 6.20% mainly due to a decrease in net premiums earned – net and fees waive for money transfers through digital channels, while revenue from sale of securities increased. Moreover, other operating expenses increased by Baht 2,684 Million or 5.49%, resulting in the cost to income ratio that stood at 43.41%. KBank has set aside higher allowance for impairment loss on loans from the preceding quarter, with prudent consideration on factors in line with uncertainties from continued economic slowdown.

Operating performance for the third quarter of 2019 compared with the second quarter of 2019, KBank and its subsidiaries reported net profit of Baht 9,951 Million, a slight increase from the preceding quarter of Baht 22 Million or 0.23% mainly due to an increase in net interest income increased by Baht 326 Million or 1.27%. NIM stood at 3.34%. Moreover, non – interest income increased by Baht 2,139 Million or 15.68% due mostly to revenue from sale of securities increased. In addition, other operating expenses was approximate to the previous quarter. In this quarter, cost to income ratio stood at 42.52%. However, KBank has set aside higher allowance for impairment loss on loans from the preceding quarter, with prudent consideration on factors in line with uncertainties from continued economic slowdown.

As of 30 September 2019, KBank and its subsidiaries’ total assets were Baht 3,240,134 Million, an increase of Baht 85,043 Million or 2.70% over the end of 2018. The majority came from an increase in investments – net and loans. NPL gross to total loans as of 30 September 2019 stood at 3.53% while at the end of 2018 this stood at 3.34%. Coverage ratio as of 30 September 2019 stood at 153.58%, while at the end of 2018 this stood at 160.60%. In addition, as of 30 September 2019, KASIKORNBANK FINANCIAL CONGLOMERATE’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) according to the Basel III Accord was 19.10%, with a Tier–1 Capital ratio of 16.76%.

October 22, 2019

BNP Paribas Expands Gold Market Activities in China

The bank can now participate in listed gold contracts, gold leasing and other gold derivatives business, and provide more services to its domestic and international client base.

BNP Paribas (China) has been granted membership of the main board of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, which will allow the bank to fully participate in the Chinese gold market by offering deeper liquidity and broader product scope, it announced in a press release on Tuesday.

SGE was set up in by the People’s Bank of China in 2002 as a center for gold, silver and platinum trading, growing to become the second-largest gold exchange globally by volume by 2018. BNP Paribas (China) started bilateral gold trading on SGE’s international board in 2017, and now conducts spot, swaps and options trading.

Through our participation on the mainboard, we hope to position China as a global center for gold trading, Mikko Russi, BNP Paribas head of FX, Local Markets & Commodity Derivatives for Asia Pacific, said in the statement.

October 21, 2019

Singapore Fintech Festival 2019 Kicks Off in November

The Singapore Fintech Festival is set to kick off on the week of November 11 and will feature over 250 industry leaders to discuss the future of the financial services industry.

The conference will feature a myriad of topics revolving around four key themes: the future of finance; sustainability; exponential technologies; and global investment and market opportunities.

Various sessions will be joined by leading global industry names such as HSBC group CEO, Noel Quinn; Standard Chartered group CEO, Bill Winters; LGT group CEO, H.S.H. Prince Philipp von und zu Liechtenstein; and more.

Last year’s Singapore Fintech Festival was widely attended with more than 45,000 participants from 130 different countries. To learn more about the Singapore Fintech Festival agenda for 2019, click here.

October 21, 2019

Tag: bank